Could it be that Usain Bolt is just an evening person? Some people might attribute the sprinter’s success to determination, others to physical prowess — but has anybody considered that his edge might simply be because the men’s 100m final generally takes place in the evening to coincide with peak

Would you love to take part in gruelling ultra-marathons but find the cuisine a little samey? Does the idea of a triathlon appeal, but sickly-sweet energy gels put you off? There is good news for you — because the latest trend in endurance sports is energy bars made to taste like pizzas and curry.

Women exposed to chemicals found in plastics and common household items experience the menopause earlier. Researchers from Washington university examined more than 30,000 women and found that those with the highest levels of a range of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors were likely to start

Parents of extremely sick children should not have to wait for the “law to catch up with the science” on the creation of three-parent babies, a group of distinguished scientists has said. Before an expected Commons vote on the issue next week, researchers, including five Nobel laureates, called

In Botany Bay, where James Cook first landed in Australia, the local ­Aborigines can trace the path of a hidden river they claim once flowed ­beneath the sea. In Cairns, a different group of Aborigines can point out long-lost islands, giving each a name. And across Australia, they tell tales of

For high-concept restaurants, a whole new vista of pretentious menu opportunities has opened up: scientists have managed to unboil an egg. However, there is one ingredient in this culinary process that might put off even the most adventurous of diners — the “uncooking” involves more than a soupçon

Ron Husmann was a Broadway signer. He performed alongside Sinatra, was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Tenderloinand appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. So powerful was his voice that he prided himself on not needing a microphone. Then one day, aged 44 and in his prime, “it stopped

Amid the endless red sand, a Martian satellite had picked up a single glint — an “alien object” a little over a metre across. And with that fuzzy image, just ten pixels wide but distinctively angular, ends a mystery that has haunted the British space community for more a decade. Beagle 2, the

Amid endless kilometres of barren red sand, a Martian satellite has picked up a single glint – an “alien object” a little over a metre across. And with that fuzzy image, just ten pixels wide but distinctively angular, ends a mystery that has haunted the British space community for over a decade.

In the 1970s, the great Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner lamented: “Today’s climber carries his courage in his rucksack, in the form of bolts and equipment. Rock faces are no longer overcome by climbing skill, but are humbled, pitch by pitch, by methodical manual labour.” Messner was calling